Oyster opening device



F. PLATE OYSTER OPENING DEVICE Sept. 15, 1942,,

Filed April 26, 1939 RM m NP wk m w \N I. vi

Ma wg YR a QW N\ m hwwv Q vWwQ Q mw ATTQR E? Patented Sept. 15, 1942 UNITED; STATES PAT EN T O FF 1 CE 2 Claims.

of the product .tofacilitate serving-the same onthe half shellfiorremoval. of the oyster :or clam;

for other ;uses .a further object being to: provide means onnthebacking: member compensating for irregularitiesin the contourzof anioyster; a further objectbeingto'provide means for detachably.

supporting the knife or .tool to; facilitate replacement or renewal'thereof; a further obiectbeing to provideianelongatedrack fOIYtSLlDDOItlHQ the knife or'toolwith meanscooperating withthe rackfor moving the 'same towardand from the backing member; a still further object'being to" provide antifrictional' means for-backing: and guiding this blade supporting. rack in its movement longitudinally'through itssupport, and LWith these and other objects." in view the: invention consistsin a, device'or apparatus of the class and.- for the purpose specified which is simple .il'l."C01'l.-:-

struction, efficient in; use;,, and: which: isvconstructed as hereinafter descibed and claimed.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device made ac-. cording to my invention with part of the construction broken away and in section.

Fig. 21s a longitudinal section substantiallyv on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 of the drawing.

Fig. 3 is a cross section substantially onthe. line 3-3 of Fig. l with part of-the constructionbroken away.

In: the art of opening oysters and clams hand methods of performing this operation are most extensively-used. In this operation it has not only been a difiicult and'tedious one but also an operation which has been hard upon the1hands of the operator and has caused injuries to the operator. It is thepurpose of my invention to provide a simple and economical form of device, which will perform the desired operation in substantially the same manner or mode of procedure as followed by the conventional hand operated means, but which will perform the desired operation with a minimum amount of effort and substantially eliminate wear and tear upon the hands and the danger of injury to the hands. By constructing a device or apparatus in the simple and economical, manner disclosedthis device or apparatus becomes available to the smallest restaurant while also serving its purpose in the most elaborate restaurant. In addition to saving in the manual effort to perform the desired function it has been found from actual. experience and use that the desired operation can be performed at a much greater speed thus facilitating by more prompt service or delivery of the products in question. It will, of course, be apparent that in addition to the restaurant use the invention is also applicable for use in various stores selling clams and oysters removed from the shell in the service of. chowders, stews, fried oysters and many other preparations of the food products in question.

For the purpose of illustrating one adaptation of my invention I have shown in the accompanying drawing a device consisting of a unitary frame 5 which may be madein the form of a. casting, and different types of metals may be employed; and if weight isa factor such material as aluminum may be used. In the construction shown this frame comprises an elongated base 6 terminated at its ends in apertured lugs for the reception of screws, bolts or other securing devices forgattaching the device to a table, bench or other support. At this time it will be under stood that the device may also be used as a portable device and attachment to a support is notessential. Extending perpendicularly at one end; of the frame 5 or the base 6 thereof is a substantial backing member 8 having a concavely curved inner surface 9 and this surface isprovided centrally with a series of straight teeth Ii], below which-there are upwardly extending teeth II, and above which there are downwardly extending teeth 12. The purpose of these different teethis to accommodate irregularities in the contour or curvature of oysters, one of which is indicatedat IS in Fig. 1 of the drawing, and especially for the reception of the bill ends M'of oysters which at times curve downwardly, other times curve upwardly and in some instances are straight. At [5 is indicated the relatively fiat top shell of the oyster and at IE is shown the peripheral edges of the cup shaped bottom shell, in other words the shell which is utilized in the serving of oysters on the half, shell. Atll is shown the hinge end of the oyster and atv I8 is indicated in dotted lines the 10651.: tion of the muscle portion of the shell to which the oyster is attached.

At the other end portion of the frame there is an upwardly extending casing portion l9 having at its upper end an elongated guide 20 and a tool supporting and operating rack 2|. The rack 2| has a series of gear teeth 22 arranged longitudinally at one side thereof for engaging a gear 23 supported in a gear case extension 24 at one side of the upper end portion of the casing l9 as is clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The gear case 24 as well as the guide 2|! opens through the upper surface of the casing l9 and a cover plate 25 of the general contour of the guide 20 and gear case 24 is secured in position by a series ofscrews as indicated at 26, Fig. 1 of the drawing. The cover plate has an upwardly protruding sleeve portion 21 in which is arranged a suitable antifriction bearing 28 to provide free rotation of a shaft or spindle 29 in the case 24 together with the gear 23 which is secured to said spindle. At 30 is shown a long operating handle having an enlarged hand grasp 3| at its outer end and the inner end of which is provided with an enlarged hub portion 32 fitting over and concealing the bearing 28 and pinned or otherwise secured to the spindle 29 as seen at 33.

It will be understood that the rack 2| is mounted for free movement longitudinally of the channel 20a of the guide 20. Arranged in the outer wall of the channel are two antifrictional rollers 34 which provide a backing for the rack 2| where the thrust of the gear 23 is applied to the rack so as to provide free movement of the rack longitudinally of the channel 20a in advancing a knife or tool 35 from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in the direction of the backing member.

The tool 35 has a pointed end 36 which is also sharpened by beveling one side as indicated at 36a, the upper side being flat as seen at 3617 of the drawing, so that the pointed end 36 of the knife or tool may freely enter the hinge end I! of the oyster between the upper and lower shells, l and I6, and then pass along the inner surface of the top shell and sever the muscle l8 joining the oyster to the top shell. The blade is preferably of sufficient width to insure severing of the muscle in one operation. It will also be apparent that clearance is provided for the rack 2| to permit slight vertical movement of the blade. This vertical movement permits the blade to feel its way into the hinge of the oyster thereby preventing undesirable chipping.

In the process of removing said top shell in this operation, it will be understood that the oyster is held in the palm of one hand with the bottom shell arranged downwardly while the other hand is utilized to grasp the handle 3|] to move the same in the direction of the backing 8 so as to advance the knife or tool 35 as will be apparent. It is well to be noted that the usual relative operation of the hands is maintained, the only real difference being that the knife or tool 35 is not directly held in the hand and extreme power can be put behind the'knife, by virtue of the leverage, in operating the same through the long handle 30.

It is preferred that the knife or tool 35 be detachably supported in connection with the rack 2| and while this may be accomplished in numerous ways one simple form of construction is shown which comprises forming a channel 31 in the end of the rack 2| and forking the inner end of the knife 35 as seen at 35a 50 as to receive the rack 2| just inwardly of the channel 31 as is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. The fork end portion of the knife 35 as well as the channeled end portion of the rack 2| will be apertured to receive a coupling pin or bolt 38 and in the construction shown this pin is held in position by a pin 39.

It will, of course, be understood that while the device or apparatus in the accompanying drawing has been shown as of a unitary construction, that is to say, the case part I9 is an integral part of and joins the backing 8 in the elongated base 6, this is not absolutely essential. Many other adaptations of the blade operating part may be employed and this is especially true in adapting the device for use in opening clams as well as oysters, where the relative adjustment of the parts may be varied. Of course, different types and styles of the device or apparatus may be made for the different uses, but in most instances the one machine will be adaptable for all uses. It is desirable that the blade or knife 35 be moved toward and from the backing 8 in alinement with the vertical center of the concaved surface 9 of the backing and this surface is made sufficiently wide to compensate for not only large oysters and clams but also to prevent displacement of the oyster or clam from the backing when the pressure of the knife is applied in the operation of removing one of the shells; In some instances, and especially with oysters of very irregular contour, the knife or blade 35 may be started or introduced into the hinge of the oyster while the oyster is held in an angular position with respect to the blade; and thereafter, and before completing the advanced movement of the knife, the position of the oyster may be changed by simply drawing back on the blade sufficiently to reengage the bill end of the oyster with another tooth of the backing 8, maintaining the oyster on the pointed end 36 of the blade in this operation.

It will be understood that prior to serving the oyster or clam on the half shell another hand knife will be used to sever the oyster or clam from th muscle of the lower shell.

The knife support and operating rack may well be termed a plunger which is movabl toward and from the backing member and this plunger with the knfie thereon is arranged substantially centrally with respect to the vertical dimensions of said backing member.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shell separating device of the class describing employing a reciprocating knife, a backing member arranged in spaced relation to and in alinement with the path of movement of said reciprocating knife, said member having a vertically disposed and cylindrically concave surface exposed to the path of movement of said knife, said concave surface having a multiplicity of transverse V-shaped grooves, the upper and lower walls of the V-shaped groove in alinement with the blade being disposed at substantially the same predetermined angle with respect to said vertically arranged surface, the lower walls of the grooves below said blade and the upper walls of the grooves above said blade being disposed at angles progressively greater than said predetermined angle, and the opposite walls in each case being disposed at angles progressively smaller than said predetermined angle thereby forming means for positively supporting a shell engaged by said blade in any angular position thereof with respect to said backing member.

2. In a shell separating device of the class dement with said knife being disposed at an equal 1 angle with respect to the path of movement of said knife, and the side walls of grooves above and below said first named groove being disposed at progressively varied angles whereby the walls of each groove form substantially uniform angles with respect to a line extending from said groove to the knife end when arranged in approximate position for engagement with a shell.

FRANK PLATE. 

